Who You'd be Today
by Saturn-Onyx
Summary: Death is natural, but even still, it doesn't quiet heal the pain or ease it.


Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, they belong to Kishimoto

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, they belong to Kishimoto. I do own the OC in this fanfic, all except Sayuri of course. She belongs to Kyo. 3 Oh, and I do not own the idea of the three lucky charm cigarettes, that credit goes to a wonderful doujinshi-ka, whom I don't remember the name of.

...:..:...

**Who You'd be Today**

By: Akaietowa-ru

...:..:...

"Tch, persistent little bastards aren't they?"

"H-Hideki-nii-chan...please w-watch your language."

"Ya Aniki, you know Daddy wouldn't like you talking like that around me and Onee-san."

Hideki looked at both of his sisters, and team-mates and snorted shrugging a bit, trying not to wince form the slightly deep wound on his shoulder from where a kunai had penetrated him. "Oh, can it Hitomi, not like I curse as bad as you." He had to hide a small twirk of his lips that would mean he was simply teasing his younger sister, and had to fake a cough to keep from chuckling when Hitomi began to curse him to hell.

Hikari sighed at watching her two smaller siblings bicker with each other. Yet, they all stilled though when they heard a rustle far off. There was an acceleration and rise of chakra as Hideki opened up his Byakugan, since he was the oh-so-lucky sibling that had gotten the genetics for it from their father. Apparently the DNA for it was stronger in males then it was in females, which explained why his sister's didn't have the same white eyes of the Hyuuga clan. Despite being triplets, they were so different from each other, not only in personality, but in their looks. Mind you, they looked somewhat alike since they did all share the same mother and father. They're what you called fraternal triplets.

At the age of twenty, they were the top of their class, a team that did indeed make the Hyuuga clan proud. They even had their own families going on back in Konoha. The infamous 'princess' of the Hyuuga triplets had recently given birth to her second child, the 'prince' had had his first set of twins with his recently made wife, Uchiha Sayuri, and the 'priss' she had had her first child only a year back. Soon enough her little baby boy would be turning a year old within a week or so...how that baby was conceived between two women though is yet to be determined, but that's story is best left for another day.

All that mattered at the present moment was that they were being chased after, and they were on an A-rank mission that could kill them if they weren't careful. Hikari looked at Hideki and then to Hitomi and a plan was already formulating in her mind. They were fast, the fastest team in Konoha. They could simply outrun the enemy, but then she looked at Hitomi and her eyes narrowed slightly shaking her head silently to herself. Hitomi was already panting a bit under her breath; she doubted her little sister could take such an extreme run like that, despite being the direct pupil of Rock Lee, since he was their old genin sensei. Hitomi was never known for her good heart...since she had been the last of the three siblings to pop out of the womb, and not by the natural way, she was smaller, and weaker compared to her two other siblings by nature. Her heart wasn't that strong, and she needed constant medical attention at some times in her life, and she couldn't push it too far or it'd just take a turn for the worse.

Hikari made her decision, and she put on a comforting smile, yet it twisted a bit into that infamous Hyuuga smirk that her father had mastered, and had seemed to pass down even to his shy daughter. Personalities aside, they _were_ Hyuuga Neji's children of course, some things never died down in the gene pool. Hideki looked at Hikari, then Hitomi looked up, and something flashed in all three of their eyes...they communicated silently, in that sort of creepy way twins do. They could read each other's mind, know what the other was thinking, ect, the Hyuuga triplets were no different. Without a single word, Hideki nodded his understanding, then Hitomi both falling into the seriousness of the situation and Hitomi reached into her top that had a similarity to a kimono top, and took out three cigarettes.

Both siblings stared at the younger, and they exchanged a look of confusion and Hitomi seemed to give off that smirk that she had inherited, not from her father, but her mother, Tenten.

"Good luck cigarettes. I heard it from Kakashi. I decided to give it a little test run." The smirk grew as she put out her hand to Hideki and Hikari urging them to take one. Hikari took her's almost hesitantly, being a girl who didn't drink or smoke for having such a low tolerance for anything of the sort. Hideki took his with a bit of curiosity looking over the so called 'lucky cigarettes', they looked normal to him.

"We'll smoke them when we get back home. Together, right at the gate. We'll light 'em up, take a big drag, cough ourselves silly, laugh, and know we accomplished our mission...and that we came home alive." Her smirk grew into an easy smile, and she looked at her siblings with determination, something she seemed to have more then both of them. Hideki stared into her honey-colored eyes, so different from either of them, and their parents, she had the eyes of their Grandfather, Tenten's father, or so their mother said. They sparked with a flame that seemed to never be able to be extinguished by anyone. They couldn't help, but catch onto the determination that flowed from their younger sister.

Hikari smiled warmly, and nodded firmly putting her's away, safely, until they got back home. Hideki couldn't help, but just snort a bit, and shake his head as if the idea was stupid to him, but he did the same as Hikari, and stored his safely away.

"Always such a drama queen, just like Lee-sensei." He muttered, and watched as Hitomi's face turned from one of a determined young warrior, to that of a peeved child.

Her cheeks puffed out a bit she wrinkled her nose at him, but there was a small blush on her face as she looked the other way, knowing the hidden compliment in Hideki's words. "Just...make sure you don't lose it or get blood on it. Or so help me God I'm going to punch you through the Hyuuga compound walls again like last time." And the threat was real, she had done it once...when Hideki had forgotten a lunch-date with his sick little sister who was stuck in the hospital all day long, and only had the hope of seeing her big older brother come to her rescue. She had been so pissed when they had let her out; she had literally knocked him through three walls when they were just sixteen years old. Hiashi was still making some of the repairs from that incident.

Hikari smiled, Hideki lowered his head, closed his eyes, and nodded with a small smile of his own. Hitomi's eyes gained that fire again, it flickered, but it never went out. "Good...well then, let's get this party started. We have to go back home to our families real quick." She motivated on, her voice sharp, and yet merry, Hideki and Hikari took one breath; with a meeting of their eyes...the three siblings in a flash were gone in different directions. They were going to accomplish this mission, they were going to go home, they were going to light those cigarettes, and they were going to go on with their lives. They were going to live.

To _live_.

...:..:...

Iruka handed them their copy of the reports, and their payment. He gave them a small sad smile, and his head was bowed slightly as he gave them their paperwork, and congratulated them.

"Good job, a successful mission with little casualties." He looked up at an injured Hikari who's right arm was bandaged, in a cast, and in a sling. Her head was bandaged as well, but it wasn't anything too serious. She had various bruises, and scratches, but those would heal up real soon. Then his eyes locked onto Hideki who was leaning against the wall looking off to the side, seemingly lost in his own world. He had come back with just a bandaged left arm and leg, a bandaged chest, and a busted ankle. His long flowing curly brown hair was put in a loose braid; it trailed over his shoulder all onto the floor. He had never really cut his hair in his entire life.

"You _two_ can go home and get some rest. It'll be a while before your next mission. Heal up, and again congratulations. That was a very tough mission." He tried to keep it professional as possible. He kept his voice closed, and sharp. His eyes lowered...and yet on the inside he was feeling a wave of pity and sympathy for his two old students.

Hikari took the paperwork with her good arm, bowed, thanked Iruka, and bid him a farewell. She went to tell Hideki that they could go now, but he was already picking himself from the wall, uncrossing his arms, and shoving them into his pockets and proceeded to walk on ahead. Hikari could only sigh and walk after Hideki following after her brother, knowing full well what was wrong with him. She caught up, and they walked side-by-side for a few hours, mostly just walking through Konoha, not a single thought in their minds. How could they even think properly after...

Hikari's lips thinned and she looked finally towards Hideki who had his head bent. It seemed as if he didn't want to go home to his newborn daughters and wife just yet. Hell, she didn't even feel like heading home to the warm embrace of her own husband, and the reassuring voice of her oldest son and the baby gurgles of her own newborn daughter. A thought flashed through her mind for a moment...what about Anzu and the baby?...Hitomi's own family. Hikari stopped walking for a moment as she just closed her eyes feeling guilt weigh on her heavily. She had a family to go home too, a family that wouldn't worry about her being dead, of never coming back home. The urge to have her lover's embrace warm her just made the guilt swarm in so much more. Her little sister wouldn't get that pleasure again...ever again.

"It's...almost like a dream...isn't it?"

Hideki had spoken out, but he wasn't looking at Hikari. Instead, he was looking at the ground bangs covering his eyes from view. Hikari's sudden stop had made him pause as well. His sudden words just seemed to shake Hikari up a bit as she looked up almost dazed, she was unbelievably cold at the moment.

"Uh...huh..." She muttered softly, not exactly knowing what else to say. So instead, she just agreed. It did feel like a dream, as if any moment they'd both wake up to Hitomi's calls that they were late for training. Then laugh at just how excited she would get from just the thought of training. She was their light...she was the little sister, brave, hot headed, stubborn, warm, goofy...determined...she was the closest to both their parents for obvious reasons, but for so much more. She was the baby...was...

Hikari officially hated that word.

_Was_.

Yes it was an awful word.

They fell into silence again, the wind blew just a tiny bit and Hikari felt a shiver run down her spine. She could almost swear she had heard the sound of a familiar laugh somewhere far off. She knew it was impossible, but her eyes wandered behind her shoulder even still. The chocolate brown reflected something dark and sad. She felt a clenching in her chest as she felt tears she hadn't allowed herself to cry on the mission try to spring forth. She bit the inside of her cheek shoulder shaking a bit as she just kept thinking over the plan. Maybe, maybe if she had planned it differently, maybe if she had just given the scroll to Hitomi, let her run off, and then Hideki and herself could have beaten down the enemy. So many different ways crossed her mind on how she could have handled that mission crossed her mind.

Swallowing hard the lump that had developed in her throat she looked up at the sky noticing it was going to rain. The clouds were hanging heavy in the sky, ready to pour down everything they had and feel free as a feather. The wind picked up again, and it was stronger this time.

A jingle resounded around them.

Startled, Hikari looked towards Hideki, who was holding something in his hand. It was a dark green wakizashi. The handle was wrapped in leather strips of black and forest green. The scabbard was green as well, but with little engravings of dragons circling all over it. The blade was just that, a blade made of the finest metal that could be found in fire country. Beautifully done, it was beautiful, and the handle had attached to it a tiny bell. It run again as Hideki moved it a bit and then looked up to Hikari. It had been the first time since she had seen her sister fall prey to the enemy that she was getting to look into Hideki's eyes.

There was a profound sorrow in those white depths of his that just made the white of his iris darken to an ominous violet. The impact of his feelings, heavy, laced with guilt, sadness, anger, dark, deep raging anger and some sort of hunger that was something she'd never seen in her life.

"I gave this to her...when we were eighteen remember? We had already both made it to Jounin a year before, she was so mad..." Hideki's voice trailed off, as did his eyes as he directed them back to the wakizashi in his hands.

Hikari remembered alright. Hitomi had huffed and puffed all day long when they had made it to the rank of Jounin, but she had stayed a Chunin. Then a year later, Hitomi finally made it to Jounin. She had been so happy, so joyful; she hadn't stopped blabbering all day long looking like a child who had gotten a new toy. Hideki had smacked her in the head at the end of the day with the hilt of that very same wakizashi, and had given it to her as a gift of congratulations. Hitomi was never one for weapons, that was Hideki's area, but she had taken one look at Hideki's flustered face, and then back to the weapon and did something that had scared Hideki out of his wits. She had begun to cry and tackled him, both ended up on the ground.

Hideki had been so scared that he had done something wrong. She just called him stupid, and kept cuddling on him saying he was annoying, stupid, and narcissistic, had some sort of weapon-fetish, looked girly with his hair, was a masochist, and so many other things, but that she was glad he was her freak of a brother. Hikari had just ended up laughing at Hitomi's semi-compliments, and Hideki's bewildered face. Actually, she had a picture of it somewhere...she had it stored in a photo album, she couldn't remember.

"I...I remember..." Hikari tried not to let her usual stutter interfere with her voice, but it was an old habit she couldn't get rid of.

Hideki didn't look up when she finally answered, and let his eyes wander over the weapon. "She never used it, but she took such care with it that it even made Anzu's own katana pale in comparison." That was saying a lot. Anzu was the samurai girl who had won over their little sister's heart. Odd, but love was love. Hideki and Hikari hadn't questioned it...much, but as a samurai, Anzu took extreme care with all of her weapons, that they shined like new every day.

"She t-treasured it...b-because it was from her d-dear Aniki," Hikari murmured softly eyes downcast.

Those words might have hit home for him, whether guilt, or just the knowledge he'd never be a 'treasured older brother' again.

There was thunder, and then a flash of lightning, Hikari didn't move a bit at the noise like she normally would. She stood stock still as she watched Hideki. The minutes passed on as he kept staring down at the wakizashi with such fascination. The wind picked up horribly now even flinging Hideki's braid in one direction, their clothes rustling with the rushing wind. Another crack of thunder, and yet it still hadn't started to rain.

"She'll...c-come back one of these d-days."

Hideki lifted up his eyes towards Hikari, and found she was moving, getting something out of her back pouch, where she kept her kunai and shuriken for missions, and got out a single white stick with the end of it colored a pale sick yellow. Hideki's eyes went dark with recognition and his eyes widened, nearly in anger.

Hikari preformed a simple Katon jutsu, and on it lit, smoke started to curl from the small end of the cigarette. Hideki's face turned into a deep scowl as he glared directly at Hikari, how could she just do that? They had promised to smoke those things together, the three of them! Not just two, but three, three of them, they were supposed to be laughing, smoking those damnable sticks, and being alive, the three of them.

Hikari didn't grimace, despite not liking the taste of smoke and nicotine in her mouth. She coughed just lightly, and took in a long drag of it bearing with it. It wasn't too bad. Looks like Hitomi had gotten the light ones; Hikari's eyes softened as she looked at the lit cigarette and shook her head. Just like Hitomi to think of the little details when it was so insignificant.

Hideki stared at her, really just stared at her. His face grew angrier by the minute, and thunder was still cracking in the distance as if answering to his anger as it grew. "You—"

"She'll c-come back s-some day!" She cut him off eyes still, almost hard, but there was a shine to them, they were glossy from unshed tears. "Until then...s-smoke yours. We made it back...one d-day she'll get to smoke h-her own." Hikari popped the thing right back in her mouth and inhaled not caring much for the awfulness that filled her senses from inhaling the smoke. She didn't even cough anymore.

White eyes stared down at Hikari hard, as hard as possible, pain rolling and weaving itself into anger. "She's dead." He called out, Hikari just stared at him with those brown eyes of her's, they turned a slight auburn, clashing, lighting her eyes up as she kept staring at him with equal intensity. Hideki trembled under her gaze a bit feeling exactly what he was, just her younger brother, even if they were just a few minutes apart at birth. Shaking hands turned into trembling fists as he started to walk towards Hikari fully intent on knocking some sense into her. "She just isn't going to resurface from the dead, come back alive Hikari! She's dead, long gone! Her body was burned into ashes when she died! There's nothing left of her! Stop with the delusions and grow up!"

Angrily, he was about to go at her, but there was a flinch at the last minute as her eyes, usually so warm and welcoming were akin to something stony, something dark. He couldn't look at her anymore, her eyes bore into him so hard, he felt as if they were burning holes into him. Making a small grunting noise he swerved and passed by her without a second look behind his shoulder at her.

A few steps was all he took before a small hand grabbed the sleeve to his shirt, and tugged him back with a force that would leave any grown man trembling. He didn't tremble though; this was the real strength of his sister, or, at least only a fraction. She had always been stronger then him, faster then him, smarter then him, even if she didn't look it. "Let go Hikari..." His voice strained as he felt the smoke from her lit cigarette curl around his nose, nearly making him gag.

_We'll smoke them when we get back home_.

Pain and a sharp cold needle pierced through his heart, right through his chest. Feeling his face go from anger, to a strong sense of pain as his eyes closed little by little as he remembered her last few words. "Hikari...let...let go..." He kept trying, trying to tug his arm away from her grip, but it just increased.

"I'm n-not the one who h-has to accept it Hideki...I-I'm not the one w-who has to g-grow up..." Her soft voice trailed to his ears, and he quivered from the impact of those words. He was the one? He was the one who had to accept it all?

Maybe...just maybe he did.

Turning around quietly, slowly he looked up to Hikari, her eyes already brimming with tears, the cigarette, almost done with still between her fingers of her good hand. Feeling a wave of despair crash on him even more, he latched onto her, mindful of her arm that was in a sling, and buried his face into her neck hugging her, clinging onto her for dear life. His body trembled and his broad shoulders shook as he was reduced to closing his eyes as his eyes stung him.

Hikari stood still, her body relaxed as she let Hideki put his head against her bosom, face hidden in her neck. Her good arm curled, and brought the cigarette to her mouth for the last time; she inhaled, and let it out, letting the smoke curl around them, almost as if warding off anything that would harm them. Time stilled as Hikari looked up at the sky, the nearly put out cigarette still between her index finger and her middle finger. Her arm curled around Hideki lightly at first, but strengthened to comfort him as much as he needed.

Time stilled for a few seconds as she still looked off into the distance, past the buildings, past everything, and right at the sky, into the dark grey heavy rain clouds that didn't seem so ominous anymore, but they looked more saddened, sorrowful, something that conveyed the pain they both felt in the inside.

Silence waned, and won out, until another crack of thunder, louder then the others sounded almost as if right above them. She didn't flinch though, not even when the heavens parted, and the clouds let their own natural tears run to the earth, drenching everything underneath them. Hikari's own tears had long since already started to fall, though her face was neutral, it looked almost a bit too calm. Something so strange for a girl like herself. Though, she knew once she got home, once she saw Eiki's face...she'd break apart like a little girl, and cling onto him for dear life just wanting to know that he was there for her. Let him comfort her. She knew the same would be for Hideki when he got home to Sayuri and his own family.

Right now though, they were mourning as family. They were mourning the loss...of a half that would never be there to fill them anymore. A third part that was lost to the tide of time, the cruelty of life, and so they'd remain forever missing a piece of themselves for the rest of their lives.

Hikari finally bowed her head feeling a sob wrench from her throat as she dropped the last tiny bit of the cigarette, and laid her cheek on top of Hideki's heard her own eyes closing tightly. Fat tears were rolling down her face, added with the rain; it looked like an endless stream. "W-We're still alive." She whispered hoarsely knowing he could hear her, but all she got as a response was the tightening of his arms around her as he kept clinging onto her.

Hikari's neck was wet, and yet, she knew it wasn't from the rain.

She held onto her brother, and he onto her.

The rain kept pouring down in masses, and it didn't let up until Hikari was nearly out of tears herself. They were both soaked by the time that they ended up in their individual homes.

Both stayed up late at night, both couldn't stop staring out a window as their lover's slept by their side, right up into the sky. They couldn't cry anymore on the outside, the tears wouldn't come forth anymore...but on the inside.

On the inside, they were wailing.

On the inside, they were calling out.

On the inside, they were yearning.

All of this, they were all crying, calling, and yearning for that last piece of three that would make them a whole.

Even if they knew that it would never be completed.

...:..:...

The air was still, stifling, as if an enormous cloud of dust and smoke had filtered around the area. No one was coughing though, no one was hacking, and no one had any trouble breathing, at least, not physically. Far off, one could almost hear the cries of a child, it was mute, but it could be picked out through the stillness of the silence. A dark hazy cloudy day was what painted the heavens above. Clouds were heavy with rain; it almost looked as if the heavens were ready to burst out into tears. Yet, nothing happened yet, the seconds ticked by, no one made a noise. Everyone was in a traditional black garb, whether just a dress, formal, informal, kimono, it didn't matter, everything was tinted in the overwhelming blackness, it engulfed everything, it devoured what little light feeling could be left. Everything was so dim, gloomy...lost.

Among the sea of still people, and the bleakness of all the black, there was a single tone of grey, almost unnoticed, but seemed to be the harbinger of all the tension in the air. A stone, a single solitary stone standing almost too bright off, too outlandish, but it seemed to fit in, in such a forced manner. Characters were clearly written, freshly engraved.

_Hyuuga..._

Everything seemed to grow darker; everything seemed to grow almost somber...the mood wasn't lifting. It was choking on everything, everything that was living, that was enjoying life. A frail cry went out from a late lone bird, white, small, but the flapping of its wings echoed as much as its small call had. Then, it seemed to disperse into the grayness of the vast sky; no one could make it out anymore, and yet the sound of flapping wings still reverberated in every present person's ears, it was almost annoying...nostalgic.

_Hitomi_

The sounds, every echo, every breath, every shadow, every light, _everything_ was overlapping. It was drowning out everything else. A silent cry went out, time was lost, time was paused...time would never be caught, and time can never be stopped, if not turned back. Time is impossible. Time cannot be escaped...when it comes; it comes, like a bomb, though silent and suddenly, it comes full blast. Not an ounce of remorse, not an ounce of hesitation, it drops. No one is ever prepared. No one ever sees it coming.

Time is unpredictable.

Time is unforgiving.

Time will snare all within eventually.

Time is...

Time is...

_Inevitable._

Like the white of snow, like the silent vast crying of the sky, like many other little, seemingly meaningless, things in the world. Time is never really thought of, until it's too late.

Death follows close behind.

Just like time, death is inevitable. It's a fruitless race to try to escape either one. Some way, some how, in the end, no matter how much you run, how much you hide, how much you hope with all your might...it'll keep up, and it will eventually be next to you, grasping you tightly, harshly by the hand, and tug you down into the harsh dirt so you can never get up again.

Some say time is stillness.

Some say death is peace.

Some say...either is to be expected, and yet surprised by it.

No one every truly _knows_.

All know though, that a _farewell_ loses to both.

Nothing is everlasting in this world.

_Nothing_.

...:..:...

The rain was pouring again, it had been for a few hours now, and it didn't look like it was letting up anytime soon. It was harsh, nearly cruel, and yet it promised new life afterwards. Hardships must be won, in order for a beginning to begin.

White eyes opened a fraction, looking up at the mesmerizing sky, not minding the raindrops falling well-shaped cheekbones, and a well-formed, handsome face. Brown curled hair as long as any thread of silk, and just as smooth and shiny trailed all over the face, and all over the already muddy, grass filled earth beneath. Sluggishly a lone figure sitting there, in the rain, was getting soaked through turned closing his eyes again giving in a sharp intake of breath that sliced through the air. Then he turned his face to look at a stone marking in front of him. There were others around, plenty of others as far as the eye can see, it was common for a cemetery, yet this particular one had a sudden interest for this person. Gently, he moved, as though he had a weight pressing down on his entire body, slumping and sagging, not unlike how he usually carried himself with such finesse and grace. It was almost as if seeing a whole different person altogether.

Lightning flashed, and a crack of thunder sounded off in the distance, not too far off, yet not too close as of yet. The figure hunched over, hair creating a curtain on either side of his face so it wouldn't be seen, it stuck to his face, sopping wet, thanks to the rain still pouring onto him. For a second, he could almost swear he heard someone laughing, and then it slipped. His eyes widened for a fraction, then narrowed sharply his head lowering even more his shoulders sagging, yet tense, and he couldn't help, but shake just a bit. Looking up as another crack of lighting resounded through the area, he lifted his red-rimmed eyes...and his hand went up.

Stretching, his fingers grazed the stone in front of him. Eyes lost, eyes hurt, those pure white orbs seemed to be clouded, they weren't as sharp, or as light as they used to be with a teasing mirth to them like his mother usually held. His lips pursed as he traced each stroke of a name that he had long since quit using. Lowering his head, he felt the rain start up again, harsher then it had been, and the place was as cold and lonely as it seemed...just a bit colder and lonesome was all.

"Hideki-nii-chan..."

_Aniki!_

It cut through him so sharp he trembled just a bit more curling his hands away already feeling like he could just die himself. Her voice just kept echoing in his mind...over and over again, tumble after tumble. Her laughter, her smiling, her smirking, her giggling, her chuckling, her huffing, her crying, her cursing, her everything, he felt his eyes sting, and it wasn't from the rain.

He kept hearing her voice...over and over, still so fresh in his mind, as if it had never happened...as if she never...never...

_Aniki! You are so aggravating!_

Like she never...

_Aniki...thank you...I don't feel alone anymore._

As if fate hadn't...

_I'll beat you one day Aniki, just watch me!_

As if life hadn't been so...

_Aniki, I love you..._

Died. Snatched her away. Cruel.

"Hideki-nii-chan...please...y-you're getting wet..."

Hideki looked up, white eyes looking up to the figure of his elder sister looking at him with worried eyes, holding an umbrella so she didn't get wet. Her dark chocolate eyes pooled into his own white ones and he lowered his gaze again not giving her an answer right away. His tried to find his voice...finally he managed to rasp something out. "I'm fine...Hikari. I'm...fine..." Those words couldn't be so far from the truth, and everyone knew it...Hikari knew it. She suffered just as much as he did...how couldn't she? She was a part of a whole as well. A whole that consisted of three pieces.

She was the first...he was the second...and...there wasn't a third anymore.

They were incomplete, together with their younger sister; they completed what was once the Hyuuga triplets...Konoha's bit of sibling terror. Yet, they were just two left now...two...no longer three.

"S-Sayuri-chan is w-worried...s-she got h-home and didn't s-see you there..." Hikari started out, but her voice died down as Hideki wasn't responding much. She worried her bottom lip a bit eyes brimming with silent tears, it was still painful...it was still fresh. Her eyes wondered from her brother's form, then to the mark in front of him. The rain was still falling, heavily, and it wasn't going to let up. She tried again anyways.

"H-Hideki-nii-chan...S-Sayuri-chan...she—"

"It's been five years."

Hikari stilled as she was interrupted, she almost didn't catch the words he had said from all the patter of the rain. "Huh?" she muttered silently still not understanding at her brother's short-clipped words, and she moved just a bit, one foot closer, but she was stopped again by his voice, a little louder this time, but it almost sounded shaky.

"Five years...since...since Hitomi died."

There was a small grunt with his words, and Hikari felt her own throat start to constrict as she looked at her brother. She saw his shoulders start to shake again, and knew very well what he was going through. A small sob escaped her as she let the umbrella go without a moment's hesitation, and dropped down next to Hideki on her knees, but he just looked up at her, finally his eyes meeting her's. It was the first time, in a long time, since she had actually seen him cry. Sure, she's known he's cried a few times over these five years, over things, important things to him, but to actually _see_ it was something totally different.

"You once told me...that we lived, and that even if she's dead, we lived." His voice was nearly hysterical, but she knew he wasn't losing it...Loss made people just a bit out of character.

Hideki had never been quiet the same since five years ago, after the incident, after that mission. Time and time again, Sayuri had tried to do her best as a wife, to try and lift his spirits, and it was working. Just...sometimes...memories cloud us, hang over us, just grasping us so tightly they nearly suffocate us back into despair.

"Y-Yes...we...w-we lived."

It was the only thing she could say in return. They had lived, and they were still living.

"I...Hikari...I miss her...so much, everyday." His voice sounded broken, and he looked broken. The rain kept falling, and he was smiling a bit scornfully, as if he were laughing at himself over something stupid he'd done. He brought a hand up to his face pushing some of his bangs out of his eyes. "I miss her so much, it's...it's ridiculous!" His voice raised just a tiny fraction as he finally looked down, smile wavered, and it turned into a frown, pained, his bottom lip trembling, his eyes were shut as his shoulders were hunched. She hadn't seen this reaction in him for such a long time...she'd almost forgotten how much it had affected him out of everyone else.

She reached out, and took his hand in her own tiny one, and held it tightly urging him to look up at her, but when he wanted. She was never one to rush people.

Hideki just looked up at her for a second, and looked back down to the ground. "I...I still dream of when we were in our teens. When she got hospitalized when we were seventeen remember? Remember that Hikari?"

She nodded solemnly still holding his hand.

"She'd taken it too far with Lee again. Her heart nearly collapsed that time. I was so scared we'd lose her. I was so scared." His shoulders bent again as he started to just cry a bit more, silently, but she knew by his shaking trembling shoulders he was lost in his own world. Still, she said nothing.

"I miss her...I miss her...I...I can't go outside sometimes without hearing her say 'Aniki' as if calling out to me..." He still hadn't gotten over her death, five years, he still couldn't forget. Hikari herself sometimes woke up from a nightmare from that mission five years ago. She could only remember yelling out for Hitomi to run, run and run and run. They had miscounted the number of enemies, a grave mistake. She ran, and ran, and ran. She could have made it, if it was the original number they had thought. Two for each of them. Which made six enemies in total. They thought it was six originally...they thought...but they had thought wrong.

In reality it had been seven. One more, it seemed so insignificant, but it was reality. Life as a shinobi was harsh, one had to be careful. NO mistakes, no misunderstandings, no missing any little detail! They weren't careful though, they had been too tired already, and had made a mistake, that had cost them the life of their precious sister.

She had just defeated her second enemy, just as Hikari and Hideki had been finishing off their own opponents. Then, right out of the trees, like a vulture, hungry and desperate, leapt the seventh one they had missed. Hitomi of course ran, tried to defend and attack with her own Taijutsu. She had never fully developed a chakra system thanks to her weak body, just like Lee, but she had learned Taijutsu, just like their sensei before them. She was the best of the best, she could have made it, she could have...but she was already at her limit.

Just when she was going to deliver a finishing blow...

Clang, her kunai hit the ground. Her eyes wide, she coughed twice, blood came forth from her mouth, a pause, but it was all that the enemy needed. One kick to her face, and she was sent flying into a tree. She got up with difficulty, but she fought against her own exhaustion, fought her limitations, and went at it. One blow she landed, a second blow, but her heart was giving out at that point. She had exerted herself too much. Adrenaline rush could only carry someone so far.

She threw the enemy away, into the trees, Hideki was about to go help her, but then she fully collapsed on her knees, then on her hands. Blood, she was coughing so much blood, from her heart, and from the attacks she had blocked and taken. Hikari had yelled out for her not to get up, to stay still, but she just tried to get up again knowing the enemy was still alive, the mission hadn't been completed yet. She brought one knee up, and then another. Just as she was up, she gave one last cough...and down she went. Her body went down, as her eyes closed, she crumpled like a rag doll. Both Hikari and Hideki's hearts had stopped at that moment. They couldn't' breathe, they couldn't think, they couldn't move, they couldn't believe.

Then the enemy, threw a Katon jutsu, and incinerated their sister's body. Just like that...reduced her to ashes. That's the only thing they could burry.

Hideki had gone mad with rage screaming out Hitomi's name and without chakra, without any jutsu, without anything, he just grabbed any weapon from his scroll, and went at the enemy shinobi. Even after the guy was dead...Hideki kept hacking at him, swipe after swipe with this maniacal look on his face wanting blood, and revenge. She had never seen that expression on her brother before, and had been afraid. Downright shaken to her bones, but she had also reacted from the fear, and disabled his arms with the gentle fist so he couldn't move them anymore.

Those memories, turned into nightmares for Hikari. She woke up gasping for air and crying, hysterically crying, and the cold slice of fear she had felt would creep up her spine and make her shiver as if she were going to face her immediate death. She would end up all night crying and hugging Eiki until she calmed down or lost consciousness. They were fewer now then they were in the past...but...it happened on occasion.

Especially when she smelled cigarette smoke.

Hikari got out of her memories realizing Hideki was slumping a bit now, and she reached out hugging him silently crying herself. Though, she wasn't crying physically. She had cried far too much over the matter already...she unfortunately had no more tears in her when it came to Hitomi's death. That didn't mean it hurt any less though.

"I-I know Hideki...I-I know. Sunny d-days, in the rain, the wind, anything...anything. Everything j-just reminds me of h-her. It m-must be worse f-for you." She whispered softly, and swallowed. "O-Our precious l-little sister. O-Our sweet Hitomi."

"She died too young..."

"I...I know..."

"She didn't even get to see her little boy grow up..."

"I-I know."

He kept babbling, and all she could say was "I know", over and over, but she kept repeating it, not caring how many times she had to.

"Hikari..." he called out to her as the rain finally seemed to be letting on. It was thinning by now. Hikari knew Sayuri was probably ready to ring Hideki's neck when he finally came home. She pursed her lips, and looked up at the sky.

"Y-Yes?"

"Who do you think she'd be today?" His question was vague...but she often pondered that one at the same time.

"M-More mature...a b-bit like Kaa-san, still s-stubborn. A l-loving mother, p-probably be teaching a t-team of her own, s-still train with Lee-sensei. A b-beautiful woman...p-probably not b-be so flat a-as she was used to b-be around the chest area..." She added that in for slight humor. "She'd b-be a wonderful p-person...s-someone our p-parents would be v-very proud of...and we'd even b-be proud of her." But those were all guesses...she honestly didn't know, but...she could make up something for her grieving brother right?

Hideki nodded lightly smile returning to his face, but not to his eyes, at least not yet. "I know...I know..." He mumbled quietly, and looked up at Hikari smile widening. "She'd be...our beautiful, stubborn, wonderful little sister." His voice was quiet now, still raspy and heavy from the tears. "I know."

Hikari sat there silent not knowing what else to do; she did about most that was in her ability. She couldn't just resurrect the dead out of nowhere now could she? Even she wasn't that powerful...and she feared even trying.

"Hikari," Hideki called out again, and she looked up and saw him with a lighter expression on his face, she blinked once and waited, urging him on with her silence. "I miss her; I wish she would still be here...but..." She still waited for him, and blinked a bit. "But every time I'm at the point of breaking...I...I think, no...no, I know...I know that I'll see her again...someday." He grew silent for a second looking up at the sky. "We'll both see her again someday..."

Tears slid down her pale cheeks. The tears she thought that would run no more were back, but for a different reason. "H-Hideki-nii-chan..." She cried a bi looking down, biting down on her lip and sobbing now. She wasn't crying because Hideki was still some depressive person still not accepting his sister's death, but...but...that he was right. He was so right. They would see her again, but...

"Until then, we'll live on, because we're still alive." He said firmly, nodding to confirm his own statement, and looked at her, smile now reaching his eyes, though it was just a bit sad. "We're still alive."

Right now, they would live on. They would keep striving, surviving, fighting in their lives. They would still breathe in the air, and feel the sunlight on their skin. They'd witness every little miracle and disaster that life had to offer. They would live on until time hauled them away. They'd live on with their families, create a life, a life that they would fulfill to the very end, because...that's the least they could do for Hitomi.

Life was a mystery. Life was cruel...life was many different things, good and bad.

Love was something else too, many different tings.

But they all contained themselves in what people called living, and that's what Hikari and Hideki would do, because they were still alive. They were still breathing...their hearts still beat.

The knowledge of getting to see Hitomi at the very end again, was just a reward waiting for them at the end of the tunnel. A reward they would have to earn, by living...to their fullest.

For their beloved sister.

For their lost half.

Until they couldn't live anymore.

They would be reunited with her.

Someday.

...:..:...

A/N: OK! Akai-chan here...eh heh...ya. Been a wile since I've typed up something hasn't it? Ya real long while. Well you see, this was a centric story about my three main OC Naruto Characters, The Hyuuga Triplets. Yes, they are Neji and Tenten's kids. Well...I hope you enjoy this...odd oneshot. 3 Hope people don't hate me.


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